Robert Newton and Celia Johnson head the cast in David Lean’s “This Happy Breed”

This Happy Breed (1944) is a British drama directed by David Lean and starring Robert Newton, Celia Johnson, Stanley Holloway, and John Mills. The screenplay is by Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan, and Ronald Neame. The screenplay is based on the play This Happy Breed (1939) by Noel Coward.

The story dramatizes the life of a suburban London family from 1919 to the early years of World War II.

Robert Newton and Celia Johnson

David Lean (1908 - 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He is considered one of the greatest and most influential directors of all time. Lean started out working in silent films where he worked his way up from teaboy to film editor. He made the transition to talking pictures and in directed his first feature In Which We Serve in 1942 which was made in collaboration with Noel Coward. Lean collaborated with Coward on This Happy Breed (1944), Blithe Spirit (1945), and Brief Encounter (1945) widely considered one of the greatest British films ever made. Today Lean is best known in America for his epic productions of films like The Bride on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago (1965), and A Passage to India (1984).

Robert Newton (1905 – 1956) was a popular English actor and is probably best remembered for his role as Long John Silver in the Walt Disney version of Treasure Island (1950). His exaggerated accent in that role is credited with what we consider the “pirate voice.” Newton was a popular player in London’s West End and he also appeared on Broadway, replacing Laurence Olivier in Private Lives. He made several films in Hollywood including The Desert Rats (1953), Les Miserables (1952), Blackbeard the Pirate (1952), and The High and the Mighty (1954).

Celia Johnson (1908 - 1982) was an English actress who was a star on the stage, film, and television. She was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Brief Encounter. Other films Johnson starred in include This Happy Breed (1944) and Captain's Paradise (1953). Later in her career, Johnson won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969).

John Mills (1908 - 2005) was an English actor who made over 100 films in the United States and in Great Britain. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ryan’s Daughter (1970). Mills worked on the stage in London in the Noel Coward revue Words and Music (1932). He made his film debut in the U.K. in 1932 and appeared with Ida Lupino in The Ghost Camera (1933). He had a supporting role in Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939) starring Robert Donat. Mills starred as Pip in Great Expectations (1946) to great acclaim and popular box office. Mills continued acting into the 2000s.

This Happy Breed trivia

• Laurence Olivier is the narrator during the film’s opening.
• David Lean’s first Technicolor movie and first solo directing credit.
• John Mills was the only cast member to reprise his role for the film.
• Robert Donat was offered the role of Frank Gibbons but turned it down.
• Celia Johnson plays John Mills’s mother-in-law but they were both the same age in real life.

 

To watch the film on YouTube, click here or the link below.

 

Discussion questions

1. Do you think Lean had an underlying message in the telling of the story of the Gibbons family?
2. Did Newton and Johnson make a believable married couple?
3. Were the family situations realistic? Could you relate to any of them?
4. Did the situation with Queenie (Kay Walsh) ring true?
5. Did you have a favorite character or scene?
6. Were you surprised that the film was in Technicolor? Was color a plus?

 

To join the discussion on August 7, 2023, at 6 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Charles Laughton and Maureen O’Hara check in at “Jamaica Inn”

Jamaica Inn (1939) is a British period adventure movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Hara, and Robert Newton. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier. The screenplay was written by long-time Hitchcock collaborators Sidney Gilliat, Joan Harrison, and Alma (Mrs. Hitchcock) Reville.

A modest inn in Cornwall is the headquarters for a gang of murderers and thieves. The gang plans a series of shipwrecks by extinguishing the warning lights along the coast. After the ships run aground, the gang kills the surviving crew and steals the cargo.  

Mary Yellan (O’Hara) goes to live with her Aunt Patience, her deceased mother’s sister, at Jamaica Inn. Immediately, Mary fears things are not quite right. She becomes acquainted with Sir Humphrey Pengallan (Laughton), the local squire who takes a shine to her and treats her kindly. As Mary becomes more and more suspicious of the goings-on at Jamaica Inn, she fears for her life and doesn’t know who to trust.

Alfred Hitchcock (1899 – 1980) was an English film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century. Hitchcock directed over 50 feature films, many are classics that have been honored and studied for years. Some of Hitchcock’s classic films include The 39 Steps (1939), Rebecca (1940), Suspicion (1941), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Notorious (1946), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), and Psycho (1960).

Charles Laughton (1899 – 1962) had a long career on the stage and in Hollywood. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Henry VIII in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) and was nominated for two other Best Actor Oscars for his performances in Mutiny on the Bounty (1933) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). His performance in The Suspect is considered one of Laughton’s most natural screen performances, which is credited to director Siodmak, a close personal friend of the actor.

Maureen O’Hara (1920 - 2015) was an Irish-American actress and singer. In her native Ireland, O’Hara trained with the Abbey Theatre at age 14. She screen-tested for the role of Mary Yellan in Jamaica Inn at age 19. Director Hitchcock wasn't impressed with O’Hara’s test but Laughton persuaded him to cast her. After finishing the film, O’Hara moved to Hollywood where she was signed to contract at RKO. In 1941 she starred in How Green Was My Valley, her first collaboration with director John Ford. She starred alongside Tyrone Power in The Black Swan (1942), The Spanish Main (1945) with Paul Henreid, and Sinbad the Sailor (1947) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. That same year she starred in the Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street with John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, and a young Natalie Wood. Other popular films include The Quiet Man (1952), The Parent Trap (1961), and McLintock! (1963). 

Robert Newton (1905 – 1956) was a popular English actor and is probably best remembered for his role as Long John Silver in the Walt Disney version of Treasure Island (1950). His exaggerated accent in that role is credited with what we consider the “pirate voice.” Newton was a popular player in London’s West End and he also appeared on Broadway, replacing Laurence Olivier in Private Lives. He made several films in Hollywood including The Desert Rats (1953), Les Miserables (1952), Blackbeard the Pirate (1952), and The High and the Mighty (1954).

Jamaica Inn trivia:

• The first of three Hitchcock films based on the works of Daphne Du Maurier. The other two were Rebecca (1940) and The Birds (1963).
• Hitchcock did not make a cameo in the film; he made cameos in all future films.
• In interviews, Hitchcock said he was unhappy with the final results, even though the film was a big success at the box office.
• This was the last of Hitchcock’s British films.

To watch the film on YouTube click the link below.

To join the discussion of this film on April 27, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email with an invitation and link to the meeting.

Why watch this film?

• It’s the last of director Alfred Hitchcock’s British films.
• It marks the movie debut of Maureen O’Hara.
• The film is considered a minor work by the director and is hardly ever screened or discussed.
• So-called second-rate Hitchcock is often better than first-rate anyone else.

Discussion questions:

1. What was your overall impression of the film?
2. If you didn't know beforehand, would you have suspected that this was a Hitchcock film?
3. What did you think of the performances of Laughton and O’Hara? Was this an impressive screen debut for the then nineteen-year-old female lead?
4. Why do you think this film is ignored when discussing Hitchcock’s films?

Maureen O’Hara and Robert Newton

James Mason is the “Odd Man Out”

Odd Man Out (1947) is a British film directed by Carol Reed and starring James Mason and Robert Newton. The film made Mason an international film star and elevated Reed to the ranks of the top directors of the day.

Johnny McQueen (Mason) is a member of the IRA and has been hiding out since his escape from prison in the home of Kathleen Sullivan (Kathleen Ryan). He’s been hiding out for six months and is suddenly ordered to rob a mill to get money for IRA activities. His men and associates wonder if Johnny is up to the job and suggest that another take the lead. Johnny doesn’t give up control and the robbery proceeds with Johnny in the lead, but things don’t go as planned.

Carol Reed (1906 – 1976) was an English film director. He directed several classic films including The Fallen Idol (1948), The Third Man (1949), and Oliver! (1968). Reed worked in a theatrical company in his teens. He eventually entered the film business in the UK where he worked his way up to the position of assistant director. He got his big break as a director with The Stars Look Down (1940) based on a novel by A. J. Cronin and starring Michael Redgrave. Other British films followed including Night Train to Munich (1940) starring Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison, Kipps (1941) with Redgrave again, and The Young Mr. Pitt (1942) starring Robert Donat.

James Mason (1909 – 1984) was an English actor who was a movie star in the UK before coming to Hollywood. His popular British films include The Seventh Veil (1945) and The Wicked Lady co-starring Margaret Lockwood (1945). His performance in Carol Reed’s Odd Man Out (1947) brought him international acclaim and success in Hollywood. In Hollywood he starred in four films in 1949: Caught, Madame Bovary with Jennifer Jones, The Reckless Moment with Joan Bennett, and East Side, West Side with Barbara Stanwyck. Other popular American films include The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951), The Prisoner of Zenda (1952), Julius Caesar (1953), A Star is Born (1954), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Island in the Sun (1957), North by Northwest (1959), Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959), and Lolita (1963). Mason continued to work in film and television up and to the time of his death.

Robert Newton (1905 – 1956) was a popular English actor and is probably best remembered for his role as Long John Silver in the Walt Disney version of Treasure Island (1950). His exaggerated accent in that role is credited with what we consider the “pirate voice.” Newton was a popular player in London’s West End and he also appeared on Broadway, replacing Laurence Olivier in Private Lives. He made several films in Hollywood including The Desert Rats (1953), Les Miserables (1952), Blackbeard the Pirate (1952), and The High and the Mighty (1954).

Many of the supporting players came from Dublin’s Abbey Theatre including Cyril Cusack, Robert Beatty, and Dan O’Herlihy.

Odd Man Out trivia:

• The role was originally offered to Stewart Granger who rejected it when he saw how little dialogue he had.
• James Mason thought this was the best performance in his whole film career.
• The film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
• The character of Father Tom has artwork in his church from the National Gallery in London and the Louvre!
• The gang of street boys was played by children from St. Patrick’s Boys Home in Belfast.
• This was the first British film to win the BAFTA award for Best British Film; BAFTA was established in 1948.

To watch the film on YouTube click on the link below.

To join the discussion on Zoom on December 1, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click on the link here. You’ll need to RSVP to get your Zoom invitation.

Discussion Questions:

1. Many film critics consider Odd Man Out a film noir. Does this make sense to you?
2. Do you think Johnny had his heart in the robbery?
3. What did you make of Johnny’s collaborators and the people he encountered when on the run?
4. Was the ending what you expected? Was it inevitable?
5. The film has some beautifully shot scenes; do any stand out to you?